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Grounded students owed nearly €8m by pilot college

T
he Pilot Training College of Ireland took in €7.7m in upfront fees from hundreds of students before ceasing training and seeking bankruptcy protection last week.

The students are unsecured creditors of the company and will be left nursing large losses even if the examinership is successful. The Waterford company has €9.8m in liabilities but assets of just €2.6m, leaving a €7.2m shortfall on a going-concern basis.

If it goes into liquidation, the shortfall will be €8.5m, according to an independent accountant’s report drawn up to support the examinership application. Unsecured creditors would get less than 6 cents in the euro in a liquidation.

The company’s main asset is €2m it is owed by companies linked to its chief executive, Mike Edgeworth, but the report warns that “other companies in the group do not have the liquidity to repay loans”.

The Revenue Commissioners, a preferential creditor, is owed €105,000. AIB has